Restrictions on women continue in Afghanistan. After announcing that they will have to wear a niqab in college and expel them from the new government, the Taliban said they would not be allowed to play sports. “I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket because it is not necessary for women to play cricket,” Ahmadullah Wasiq, an official with the Taliban Culture Commission told Australian media.
SBS News , who questioned him on the matter ahead of a cricket match between Australia and Afghanistan in November.
“They might be faced with a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this. It’s the age of media, and there will be photos and videos, and then people will look at them. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or to practice the kind of sport in which they are exposed ”, justified the member of the new Afghan government.
Sport is not a necessity for women, say Taliban
The twenty-five players of the Afghan cricket team will therefore no longer be allowed to play. The announcement is expected to prompt the cancellation of the men’s match scheduled for November, as the International Cricket Council requires its members to have a national women’s team. Not enough to change the Taliban’s mind on the issue.
“We fought for our religion, Islam. We will not transgress Islamic values, even if it provokes opposite reactions. We will not give up our Islamic rules, ”replied Ahmadullah Wasiq. The head of the cultural commission told Australian media that women would be allowed to go out to meet their needs, such as shopping, but that sport was not seen as a necessity. “In cricket like in other sports, women will not have an Islamic dress code. Islam does not allow it, ”he insisted.
Several members of the Afghan women’s cricket team told the BBC that the Taliban had targeted female players, making threats if they attempted to replay.